How do you get people to cycle more? Well, you could offer them the opportunity to do it in harmony with the natural environment. At least, that’s what the Belgian government had in mind when building a bike path through the trees of one of the country’s rural woods.
The path, which has been dubbed Cycling through the Trees, has a disc-shaped design that provides you with a sensational 360° experience of your natural surroundings. As you bike down the path, it gradually rises in the air – and at its highest point, around 32 feet above the ground, propels you through a canopy of pine trees.
In a region that was once known for coal mining, the trees in this forest were originally planted for use in the mines. By clearing away some of the coniferous trees—not native to this area—the new bike path helps make room for some native trees to come back.
On top of that, the bike path’s construction process avoided any unnecessary impacts on the surrounding flora and fauna, with a design that could be built from pieces made in an off-site workshop and then assembled, Lego-like, in the woods. Since its opening in mid-June, more than 180,000 people have visited the new forest.
